Uefa mounted an urgent investigation today into a report that major European clubs are being offered huge inducements to play in a 24-team tournament to be held every two years in the Gulf state of Qatar.

But there was immediate scepticism about the report, which appeared in today’s Times newspaper, with some observers suggesting the paper had been duped by a giant hoax.

The report claimed that the new tournament will be called the Dream Football League (DFL) and has the backing of the Qatari royal family. It said DFL is prepared to offer elite clubs such as Barcelona and Manchester United around £175million per two-year cycle, beginning in 2015.

There is bafflement in the Premier League at the plan. The sums on offer would supposedly dwarf earnings from the Champions League, where the total annual prize fund is £595m.

Last season Chelsea took home £47.3m for winning the competition.

It is understood that no major Premier League stakeholder has been formally approached and, anyway, the new stadia which are being built for the 2022 World Cup there would not be ready in time to stage the tournament.

Although no one in football would be surprised if the fabulously rich state did try to lure top clubs there for exhibition games, the truth may be different.

A French satirical website, Cahiers du Football, carried a remarkably similar report yesterday.

It was a joke, and they even claimed that players would live on specially built islands.